Applying Remote Technical Consulting to Your Business : Page 2

By building a model and following these best practices for your remote consulting business, you can avoid problems and reduce costs.

by Puneet M. Sangal

Jul 31, 2009

Page 2 of 3

Building a Working Model

This section defines a working model that includes the various aspects of running a remote practice, discussed/defined in more detail below.

Vision and Strategy

Vision defines the core that the group is trying to achieve, while strategy defines the long-term scope and direction toward achieving those goals. Vision and strategy together give a direction to the members of the group, as well as to the senior management.

Example: The remote consulting practice of Group X is aligned to and provides resources for local practices. The resources are an integral part of the consulting group, providing world-class technical delivery. Enabling local practices builds better customer relationships.

Core

It is useful to highlight the core of the model in case one needs to understand the working structure. Essentially, in any technical consulting organization, there are four recommended levels of services: Implementation, Integration, Consulting, and Productized. The first two levels can be done remotely, and should be targeted. Customer satisfaction and product pull-through are the two most audacious goals of any consulting organization, and considering consulting and productized services remotely can be risky. Positive net operating profit after taxes comes out of the latter two levels of service, so they should be avoided remotely, because customer dissatisfaction over the long term can outweigh any short-term cost savings.

Reporting

Growth

It's good to have a business plan for the entire year, along with a "Go-To Market" for the next three to five years that includes organic growth plans. It's also useful to assess career planning for the remote consultants along with local project managers.

Examples:

Assess candidate A mid-year for promotion.

Hire two people for key account growth.

Scaling Model

While growth is needed, a scaling model is imperative to sustainable growth. It should clearly elucidate how the remote practice intends to scale.

Examples:

It is key for remote consultants to remain customer-facing; that includes exposure to meeting customers on site.

Cultural differences can be mitigated through experience and adequate training.

Scaling can happen for English-speaking customers only.

Attrition planning should be in place.

Metrics for Success

Metrics define how success or failure can be measured. A remote consulting practice calls for an additional set of metrics that provide an ongoing picture of performance and efficiency to senior management.

Examples:

Utilization and billability targets

Utilization contribution to region, and billability contribution to local practice targets

Revenue targets directly roll up into practices

Notes

In this section, try to capture any and all areas that cannot be covered elsewhere but are important for your model.

Example:

Maintain a balance between local responsiveness vs. cost efficiency.

Local manager and remote manager should sync up on at least a weekly basis.